Crème Brûlée
Servings: 6 people
Calories: 549kcal
Crème Brûlée is about as delicious as they come when you're talking about desserts. Be sure to follow the steps closely for perfectly silky smooth custard and a super crunchy sugar topping. The custard will keep in ramekins in the fridge for up to 24 hours before serving.
Print Recipe
Equipment
- Four to Six 6-ounce ramekins See NOTES.
- Kitchen torch (with butane) see NOTES.
Ingredients
- 3 cups heavy cream or heavy whipping cream, or double cream
- 1 whole vanilla bean or 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 6 egg yolks
- ⅔ cup sugar
- 5 tablespoon extra fine sugar See NOTES
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 300°F.
- Heat enough water to fill your baking dish (or roasting pan) about one-third full of the water. Bring to a gentle simmer.
- Pour the cream into a saucepan.3 cups heavy cream
- Use about 1 inch of the vanilla bean, and cut down the middle. Scrape the insides out and add to the cream, along with the skin of the bean. Or, add the vanilla extract.1 whole vanilla bean
- Heat the cream until just comes to a simmer, then turn off the heat. Cover with a lid and let rest for 15 minutes.
- Meanwhile, vigorously whisk the egg yolks and the sugar until they are pale yellow, about 3 minutes. Set aside.6 egg yolks, ⅔ cup sugar
- Carefully pour about half of the warm cream into the eggs, whisking constantly. Once fully incorporated, add the remaining cream, still whisking.
- Place 6 ramekins into a baking dish or a roasting pan. Pour the egg/cream mixture through a fine mesh sieve into each ramekin. Carefully pour the hot water into the pan, adding just enough to go up about one-third of the ramekins.
- Bake for 35 to 45 minutes, or until just set. The custard will still be jiggly, but not runny. Let cool in the water bath for about 20 minutes and then remove each ramekin from the pan and place in the fridge for at least 4 hours or up to overnight. (if chilling for more than 4 hours, cover with plastic wrap).
- After the custard is fully set (only slightly jiggly), sprinkle about 1 to 2 tablespoons of the fine sugar over each ramekin of custard.5 tablespoon extra fine sugar
- Use a kitchen torch to quickly (carefully) brown the sugar. They should turn amber in color, but not too dark. (You want to brown the sugar, but not burn it) Give the sugar a minute or two to slightly cool and harden. Then, serve immediately.
Video
Notes
See the video near the top of the blog post for visual guidance. If you liked the video, please subscribe to our YouTube channel.
You can use just four 6-ounce ramekins, but you'll almost fill to the brim. This will mean you need to bake them a little longer (closer for 45 minutes). If using six ramekins, you'll fill them not as full, and will only need to bake 35 to 40 minutes.
Take care when adding the warm cream to the egg mixture. The cream should be very warm, but not scalding. Add no more than half of the hot cream to the egg yolks, and whisk continuously. If you rush this process, you will scramble (or curdle) the eggs and you won't have a smooth custard.
The custard can be made 24 hours in advance. Keep covered in the fridge until just before serving. Don't torch the sugar until ready to serve. If you don't have a kitchen torch, you can place 3 inches under the broiler until lightly browned and caramelized (usually about 1 minute).
Regular granulated sugar and be substituted for the extra fine. (Extra fine sugar melts quicker than regular sugar, but either will work...just don't let the sugar get burnt).
The recipe can easily be doubled or tripled if serving a crowd.
Nutrition
Calories: 549kcal | Carbohydrates: 26g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 36g | Saturated Fat: 14g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 8g | Cholesterol: 329mg | Sodium: 41mg | Potassium: 133mg | Sugar: 26g | Vitamin A: 2009IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 102mg | Iron: 1mg